Domain Names

What’s in a name? When it applies to the internet and domain names, a good name can mean the difference between success and failure of your online endeavors. The domain name is the primary addressing scheme to find resources on the Internet. For example tekresults.com is a domain name and it points to our web site host, our email host, our customer portal, etc. Domain names are unique and are administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non profit international group.
It is very easy and not costly to find and then register a domain name. There are several free services that provide you with the ability to look for domain names – for example www.domainsbot.com enables you to enter text that relates to the domain (such as the business name) and then suggests names. When you have found an available name you can register with a service such as www.pairnic.com. The typical cost to register a name is $20 a year. You will then need to host the domain somewhere for web, email, etc. Some domain registration services will allow you to setup forwarders so new domain names can be pointing to existing hosts.
Caution - be careful when you register – make sure the domain is registered under the name of someone you trust and the same applies for the Technical and Administrative contacts – the people you choose will be required to make decisions regarding the domain. Many organizations have had their domain names hijacked because they let their web service provider be the registrant. Once your customers know the domain name and you have the domain name all over your literature then it is a costly proposition to change.